The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1887-01-08
GROCERIES,.
How They are Doctored up for th'
Trade
New York Tribuns.l

New York Tribuns.l
THAT is not coffee, said the report
er.
"Who said it vast replied the jolly,
rosy checked grocer. Are there any
marks on it 10 indicate that il is c0ffeei'
mo. not particularly; bu, il certain
~ looks like coffee, and tastes entirely
different
"Ah, YOU have hit the nail ON the
head, continued the grocer. with a
smile. lit would not do To let every
one know it as it might shake people 5
confidence in their grocery store. The
bag, few beans from which you have
just tasted, contains an imitation of
coffee. 1t is nothing more than flour,
aud poCr flour at that, which has been
shaped like the coffee bean and baked
brown. Ii you will take genuine
coffee bean III ysur hand and put II
alongside The imitation, you can see
that there is difference in the color
The shape Is also different, but that Is
nothing, as the various kinds of coffee
vary Ia shape aud size. The flavor, OF
course, Is not there, but the way the
limitation is sold does not require its
presence. The grocer Is not - foolish
man. lie does not sci. THESE -four
beans for coffee. This would give The
business away. Bit when trade 10
dull, and the grocer must have some
thing to occupy his mind, it Is pleas
ant recreation for him to mix u guam
tity of the four beans with the genu-
inc coffee. Then it cannot be easily
detected. Only just enough Of the
havOrless bean is used to make little
profit. This is not quite one-half.
When the honest house. who buys
whole coffee so rs to get ii pure grinds
up this mixture, aud the Odor steals
out of the mill, her eyes snap, and she
laughs at the peapie VII" Hte foolish
enough to buy the coffee which Is
ground At the store, and can be easily
adulterated. The taste of this com
pound is not unpleasant, and it will
not injure any Que. Even the baby
can take 1t with impunity. If the
coffee we're drunk plain, it's weakness
would lie noticeable, but being usually
taken with milk and sugar, the fraud
10 not detected. Years ago all the
coffee was ground in the grocery, but
adultsration Was carried on 30 extern
sively that the practice was established
OF buying the whole bean. This led
some inventive Yankee humanitarian,
who believed that too much coffee Is
bad for the nerves, to bring out the
-four Dean.
"Here is something else interesting.
See these beautiful samples of cloves
and peppers. Imporledf Well, no,
not exactly. They dre homemade to
suit the trade. They look good, but
there is little flavor to them. Some
one thought il was a shame TO waste
the beautiful aud ncurishIng cocoanut
shell, ana conceived the idea OF heat
ing il aud then grinding it to fine
powder. This, when artIstically mixed
with various kinds of oils, makes u
good spice for pies and other good
things. II is a growing industry and
we'll patrOniz II. Some OF this powder
ed shell, after being favored aud made
into n stiff paste, Is pressed through
mouds into the shape of peppers aud
cloves. These, mixed with quantity
of the genuine article, give about all
the flavor 1t is safe tor a person to
take, aud the grocer does not lose any
thing, but goes on paying his pew
rent and building rows OF houses the
same as ii there were . little cream in
the cheese, small quantity OF sugar
in the glucose, AMI taint OF butter
in the oleomargarine."